Stacey huffed. “Yeah? Well, so do you. I wish you could see yourself as others see you, Jessie. You’re smart, successful, funny, adorably naïve, pretty, and the absolute nicest person I know.”
Jessie blushed, but smiled at her friend. “Thank you, Stacey. What would I do without you? You should get bonus points for putting up with my meltdowns and panic attacks.”
Stacey laughed. “Hey, that’s what friends are for.” Her laughter faded and she sobered. “Seriously, Jess, you’ll do great. Don’t worry about what everyone else thinks. Just have fun. Who knows, maybe spending all that time with your cowboy will finally turn his head.”
Jessie grinned. “Turn it the opposite direction. He’ll be so sick of me by the time this trip is over, he’ll probably leave me on the road somewhere or send me home.”
“You, my friend, have quite an active imagination. Use it for good, instead of fretting about things that are never going to happen.” Stacey glanced away from the screen and Jessie heard a muffled voice. Stacey nodded her head and waggled her hand dismissively before she looked back at Jessie. “Listen, Jess, I’ve got to get back to work, but keep me posted. I want to hear every nitty gritty detail. When are you leaving?”
“Chase said to be ready to go first thing in the morning.”
Stacey frowned. “Is he home? Have you talked to him in person?”
Jessie shook her head.
“If it was me and my husband had been gone since March, the minute he walked in the door, I’d launch myself into his arms and make him think twice about leaving me alone that long in the future.”
Jessie laughed, picturing Chase’s reaction if she did that. She envisioned the horrified look on his face as he tried to peel her off and set her aside. “Yeah, that is not happening. Get to work, Stace. I’ll call or text you when we get where we’re going.”
“Sounds good. Love you, Jess.”
“Love you, too, Stacey. Bye.”
Jessie closed the app on her laptop and stared at the assortment of clothing and toiletries on her bed. How in the world did Chase expect her to be able to pack three weeks worth of clothes and everything she’d need into one little bag. They’d have to do laundry a few times, at least she assumed they would. She would not wear dirty clothes. That was for certain.
With a frustrated sigh, she took everything out of the bag and tried packing it again. If she wore her boots and carried the one jacket she was taking, she barely managed to get everything else crammed into the bag. A large shoulder bag would hold her laptop and electronics as well as anything else that she couldn’t stuff into the nooks and crannies of her carry-on bag.
Jessie checked her wallet and the small purse she’d tucked inside the shoulder bag. Since Chase had mentioned her passport more than once, she wanted to triple check to make sure she had it. Uncertain what to expect, she’d also gone to the bank in Hermiston and withdrew five hundred dollars in cash.
Living rent free with no utility bills had been great for her bank account, even if it had been hard on her heart.
The lovely spring morning when Chase had kissed her so thoroughly, she hoped he’d be back in a month, maybe two.
How wrong she’d been. He’d been gone almost four months. Months since she’d seen his eyes sparkle with humor or darken with emotion. Months since she’d breathed in the captivating scent of him that smelled of leather and outdoors and rugged man. Months since he’d kissed her so fervently, so lovingly, on the back porch steps before he left that it had taken days before her lips stopped tingling. Even now, thoughts of the passionate exchange made her lips ache for his kiss.
“Jessica Rose, get your head on straight!” she chastised herself.
Convinced she was as ready as she could be to leave for three weeks, she took her carry-on and shoulder bags downstairs, leaving them in the mudroom by the door.
She returned to the kitchen and wondered if she should make enough dinner for two. Chase hadn’t said when he’d be home, but since he expected her to be ready to leave in the morning, she assumed he planned to be back today.
Nerves made her stomach clench and ache. The last thing she was interested in doing was eating a big meal. Jessie went back into the mudroom and pulled on a pair of dirty, scuffed cowboy boots she wore around the ranch.
It didn’t take her long to saddle Tulip and swing onto her back. One thing that helped her relax and take her mind off her troubles was a long, quiet ride on the horse.
She waved at Mike and Tim as the two hands worked at fixing a section of fence two of the bulls had mowed down earlier that morning.
As excited as Chase seemed about his bulls, she was surprised he didn’t at least come home once in a while to check on them.
Jessie knew Lucas and Chase communicated daily about the ranch, but that wasn’t the same as him being there.
She rode atop a slight rise and stopped, watching the cattle below her grazing in the summer sunshine. When she’d agreed to this crazy scheme, she hadn’t planned on falling in love with the land and especially not with Chase.
If Stacey, Ashley, or anyone asked, she would adamantly deny it, but she loved her husband with every little bit of her heart. That was precisely why going with him on the road for three weeks was such a monumentally terrible, stupid idea.
Resigned to doing what she must, she rode the horse around the hay field then circled back toward the barn.
After she brushed down Tulip and turned her loose in the corral, she wandered over to Lucas and Lori’s house where Tinsel lounged on a little wooden bench near the flowerbeds.
“Hey, Tinsel. You sure like your sunshine, don’t you, kitty?”
The cat opened his eyes and gazed at her, swishing his tail in welcome. Jessie picked him up and sat on the bench, gently stroking his head. “Will you miss me while I’m gone, Tinsel? Hmm?”
The cat purred and Jessie smiled. “I don’t think you will. You like things just fine here with Lucas and Lori.”
Jessie hated to think of leaving her cat behind, but she’d decided to ask Lucas if he wanted to keep Tinsel when she left at the end of the year. The cat had so much more freedom on the ranch than he’d ever had at her little apartment. He thrived in the fresh air and sunshine as much as she had. She had a feeling the couple would gladly keep him, if she could force herself to leave without her cat.
“Oh, Tinsel, I’ll miss you.” She buried her face in his soft fur then set him back on the bench and rose to her feet.
Before she’d taken more than a few steps, Lucas opened the front door and rolled his wheelchair outside. “Hey, Jessie. Would you like to have dinner with us?”
“Thank you for the invitation, Lucas, but I’ll pass.”
He gave her a long, studying glance then motioned for her to join him on the porch. She walked over and took a seat on the top step.
“Are you okay?” he asked, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.
Afraid the tears stinging the backs of her eyes would spill over if she answered, she shrugged and changed the subject. “Have you heard from Chase? I thought he’d be back by now.”
“He called a few minutes ago. Something he ran over on the road blew out two of his tires. He’s waiting for a service rig to come with new tires, but he might be awhile. It sounded like he got a late start today. He did say he left you a message.”
Jessie remembered she’d left her phone in her bag after she’d been arranging where she’d stow everything. No wonder she hadn’t heard from Chase. She looked up at Lucas with a questioning glance. “You used to travel with Chase, didn’t you?”
“Sure did. We were travel partners the whole time I competed in rodeos.”
“Chase didn’t really give me an idea of what to expect in the next few weeks. He just mentioned something about Christmas in July and told me we’d be on the road a lot. I did figure out Cowboy Christmas refers to a series of rodeos that happen around the Fourth of July and that some of them are in Oregon. What else do I need to know?�
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“He may be my best friend, but sometimes that guy is such an idiot,” Lucas muttered darkly.
Jessie tried to hide a grin, but wasn’t completely successful.
Lucas smiled. “Chase will try to compete in anywhere from four to six rodeos in the next week, more if he can squeeze them in. You’ll travel all over and feel like everything moves at a frantic, hectic pace, yet there’s this amazing energy and excitement that will fuel you. My advice is to drink plenty of water, make sure you have some healthy snacks because greasy burgers get old in a hurry, and relax. It really is fun and you’ll meet some super people. In fact, I think you’ll see Paige and Cooper James at the first rodeo on Chase’s list. It’s near Portland, so you’ll be heading there tomorrow.”
Jessie brightened at that thought. She thoroughly liked the couple and felt a special connection to them since they got married the day before she and Chase accidentally wed. Not only that, but Paige kept Jessie busy with a variety of design projects, including artwork for Lasso Eight.
Financially, life had never been better for Jessie. It was every other aspect where she seemed to flounder.
“Oh, and if Chase forgets he has a wife along or pulls on his grumpy pants, you have my permission to put him in his place. He can take himself way too seriously sometimes, especially if he has a bad ride, so please keep that in mind. If he’s grouchy or withdrawn, just know that it isn’t anything you said or did. It’s all on him.”
Jessie’s stomach clenched even tighter. On top of all her worries, she could add handling her husband with kid gloves to the list. Fantastic.
Lucas gave her an encouraging pat on the back. “I’m sure everything will be fine, Jessie. Just have a good time and leave your worries here. When you get back, they’ll still be here, unless you decide to pack them up for good.”
Forcing a smile, she rose to her feet. “Thanks for the advice, Lucas. I appreciate it.” She was halfway to the house, when she heard him call to her but couldn’t make out what he said.
“I’m sorry I didn’t hear you. What did you say?” she asked, turning around to look at him.
“Take an ample supply of Skittles and Snickers bars. It tames the beast,” Lucas yelled with a laugh then waved and rolled back inside his house.
Jessie giggled and made a note to pick up some candy as soon as possible.
Unable to relax, she went to the office and worked until darkness settled around her. Chase had left her a message saying he was running behind schedule, but would be ready to leave in the morning.
Mindful that she needed to rest, Jessie drank a glass of milk and ate a banana then went to bed.
Up early the following morning, she dressed with care and spent extra time curling her long hair, leaving it loose, although she would have preferred to pull it back in a ponytail. She swiped mascara over her eyelashes and added a spray of her favorite perfume then gathered the toiletries she planned to take with her together and carried them downstairs. After tucking them inside her bag, she returned to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee then looked outside.
Chase wasn’t home yet. Worry gnawed at her. What if something had happened? What if he’d been in a wreck?
Determined not to work herself into a state of anxiety, she took a deep breath and another. Then she sent up a prayer for his safekeeping, as she did many times each and every day.
She made herself a cup of tea then walked through the house, unplugging anything that wasn’t essential and making sure all the windows were locked.
Back in the kitchen, she forced herself to eat a small container of yogurt and a piece of toast. She’d just washed her dishes and put them away when the kitchen door banged open and Chase raced inside.
“Jessie! I’m so sorry. After waiting half of forever for the service rig to show up with tires, I got tied up in construction and then there was a wreck that shut down half the freeway for a few hours.” Chase set a paper bag on the table, kicked off his boots, and yanked the snaps open on his shirt as he talked, exposing a golden, muscled chest.
Jessie found it impossible to look anywhere except at her husband. In the months he’d been gone, he continued to let his hair grow on his face and head. The beard he’d had the last time he was home was even bushier, yet it appeared he kept it trimmed. However, she doubted a barber had touched his hair in months. What had been barely an inch long when she met him was now four or so inches long. Wheat-colored waves in his hair made her mouth go dry and robbed her of the ability to speak. She gaped at one wavy lock that curled above his left eye, desperately wanting to brush it away from his face.
Unaware of the effect he had on his wife, Chase unfastened his belt buckle, emptied his pockets on the table, and unzipped his jeans. “I left a bag of dirty clothes in the mudroom. If we weren’t pressed for time I wouldn’t even ask, but could you please toss my shirts and jeans in the washer? I need to take them with me. While I grab a shower, would you ask Mike or Tim to fuel my truck? Oh, and can you dig my passport out of the gun safe in the office? The combination is my birthday.”
Chase dropped his shirt on the floor followed by his jeans. With a rascally grin, he kissed her cheek, grabbed the paper bag off the table, and raced down the hall to his bedroom wearing a pair of white socks and black knit boxers that clung to him like a second skin.
Unable to tear her eyes away from his gorgeous form, Jessie watched until he disappeared inside his bedroom.
She tugged the belt from his jeans and left it on the kitchen table, then got started on his laundry. After spraying a special stain remover on the manure coating several pairs of his jeans and dropping them into the washing machine, she hurried outside to his pickup. The keys were in the ignition, so she started it and drove it down to the ranch fuel tanks where she filled it then drove back to the house. Empty soda cups and fast food bags littered the floor of the truck, so she took a moment to gather all the garbage. She went in the house and tossed the load of jeans in the dryer then dropped a load of shirts into the washer. Armed with cleaning supplies, she went back out to the truck and wiped down the glass both inside and out. She dusted the dashboard and brushed down the seats.
When she finished, she made sure to stash an empty garbage bag in the backseat to contain all of Chase’s future messes then loaded her luggage. She filled a small cooler with water bottles and a bag with pieces of whole fruit and set them in the truck before going back to the kitchen.
The coffee she’d brewed for Chase went into a travel thermos. She rinsed the pot, slapped together peanut butter sandwiches with jam she’d made from strawberries grown locally, and made sure everything in the kitchen was unplugged.
While she waited for Chase to reappear, she hurried upstairs and made one final check through the rooms. She didn’t know why she was so worried. It wasn’t like Lucas, Lori, Mike, and Tim weren’t around to keep an eye on things. Chase had insisted she keep the cleaning service he’d hired when he first moved into the house and they would come at least once while she was gone.
Aware that she needed something to keep her mind from dwelling on how enthralling her husband looked, Jessie made her way down the stairs to the kitchen then remembered Chase’s passport. She hurried to the office and opened the gun safe hidden in a storage closet. Jessie would never have known it was there, but Chase had shown her where it was the last time he was home in case of an emergency. He’d failed, however, to share the combination to the lock at that time. It only took a moment for her to punch in the code and open the heavy door. A shelf held numerous documents, but it was easy to locate his passport. She shut and locked the safe, then went back to the kitchen.
After tucking the passport into a zippered pocket on his bag, she checked the dryer to see how much longer it would take his jeans to dry. Depending on how quickly Chase planned to leave, his shirts might not have time to dry.
Jessie retrieved a handful of hangers and hung his shirts on them then carried them out to the pickup. A trip to the shop turned up a
wooden dowel just long enough to use as a rod. She fastened it to the hooks above the rear passenger doors then hung his shirts on it. With the summer sun beating down, they wouldn’t take long to dry.
She returned to the house and nearly collided with a clean-shaven Chase as he barreled into the kitchen. The scent of his after-shave and soap mingled with the delightful aroma of him. Subtly filling her lungs and nose, she tried not to stare at his bare chest as he plopped down in a kitchen chair with his shirt undone.
Muscles rippled with every movement while a few water droplets clung to his hair. Jessie bit her lip, swamped in emotions she had no idea how to acknowledge let alone process.
Chase yanked on his socks then retrieved his boots from the mudroom and tamped them on. With steady, quick motions, he snapped his shirt and shoved the tails into the waistband of his jeans then threaded on his belt and stuffed his wallet, a handful of change and his cell phone into his pockets.
“Now I’m fit to greet my wife,” he said with a teasing smile, moving across the kitchen and enfolding Jessie in a warm hug. “How are you?”
“Fine,” she said, relishing the feel of his arms around her. Despite the heat of the day, when he eventually pulled back, she felt bereft and chilled. “I made sandwiches and some coffee for you.”
“Thank you.” Chase took another step back and studied her from the top of her head down to the tips of her boots. “You look wonderful, Jessie. Life on the ranch agrees with you.”
“I guess it does.” Unsettled by his scrutiny and the light glowing in his eyes, she picked up a sandwich and handed it to him. “I made the jam. I hope you like it.”
Chase took a bite and nodded. “Best peanut butter sandwich I’ve ever had.” He winked at her and stepped into the mudroom, noticing she’d already packed his jeans back in his travel bag. He took the bag to his room to add underwear and socks then came back to the kitchen.
“Are my shirts in the dryer?” he asked.
“I hung them in the truck. I didn’t think we’d get them out of the dryer before you wanted to leave.”
Chasing Christmas: (Sweet Holiday Western Romance) (Rodeo Romance Book 5) Page 21